Inside the Fire
by Lady Skye 1992
Summary: All Human! Bella, Jasper, Emmett, and twins are sibs. Edward is Esme's only child and Step-son of Carlisle. Edward wants to escape his life so he cuts himself with a ceremonial knife. Better than Summary. Read and Review please.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I'm not Stephenie Meyer**

"Bella." Emmett said, addressing his younger sister. They'd been living on their own, with their brothers, since their parents went off on their world tour. Renee and Charlie were members of an elite band that everyone loved.

"What do you want Emmett?" she asked, putting her iPod on the desk. She'd been looking up the concert dates for her favorite band, Disturbed. She knew that their new CD was coming out soon and it had a song called "Inside The Fire" on it. She hadn't heard it yet, but really wanted to.

"Josh and Jake are back. They've brought their friend over. He and his family have just moved here. I want you to meet him. And be nice." he said, leaving her alone. She hated when her brothers brought home a new friend. It seemed that they only wanted her to date them, and didn't want her to be their friend. She knew that this one was going to be the same. All of them were. Like Mike Newton, Eric Yorkie, and Tyler Crowley. All the same. Perverted.

Bella put her iPod on her charger and walked downstairs. Her youngest brothers, Jake and Josh, had a boy with gorgeous bronze hair standing by them. Emmett was laughing with Jasper, her other brother. Emmett was oldest, then Jasper, then her, then the twins. "Hello. I'm Bella, their sister." Bella said, shaking the new guy's hand.

"Hello. I'm Edward. I feel bad for you. Having to keep these guys in line all the time. My condolences for your trouble." he said, smiling. Bella laughed and nearly fainted when he smiled. She had to remind herself to breathe.

"Thank you for caring. Not that these four ever would. Do you want to stay for dinner? I'm making it in about a half hour for these lugs." she said, sitting at the table.

"Um, I'll have to ask my mum but I'm sure that she wouldn't mind." he said, his British accent dazzling her until her cheeks flushed red. "Where's the phone?" he asked, staring at her.

"Um...we don't really have one. We have to use our cells. Here," she handed him her Sidekick, "have at it."

He dialed his number, she assumed, but left the room. She figured that he wanted to have a private conversation with his mother. She had always respected other people's privacy...something that her brothers had yet to learn. "So Bells, what d'ya think?" Jake asked, sitting next to her.

"He seems pretty cool. Quiet though. Not for long if he hangs out with you four..."she laughed, playfully hitting her brother.

"I'm hurt, Bells. I really am. You wounded my pride. Hey, at least he's not all over you like Mike was. And he's not acting like a dog like Eric or Tyler. He seems better than those three losers." Josh said, sitting on her other side.

Moments later Edward returned Bella's Sidekick. "I'm sorry but I have to go. Er, my mum and dad need my help unpacking. I'll try to come over soon. Bye." he said, leaving Bella and the twins speechless.

"W-what?" they asked, looking around. It was too late, of course, since Edward left already. "Why would he suddenly leave?" Jake asked, looking at Bella.

"Maybe he really did have to help unpack. That's what we had to do for mom and dad when we moved here." she answered, standing and getting the ingredients for pizza out of the freezer and fridge. "Jake, can you help me?"

"Naw, I got some homework to do. Josh can." he answered.

"I've got homework too. Have Jasper or Em do it." the other twin said.

"Emmett Swan, put Jasper down!" she yelled seeing that Jasper was in a headlock on Emmett's shoulders. "Emmett don't make me call Phil!" Phil was their "babysitter" of sorts. He checked up on them every other week while their mom and dad were gone. Phil was one of the only people that Emmett was afraid of.

"Sorry Bells." he mumbled. "D'you want help?"

"Yes please. I need you to get the dough ready. You can handle that without making a mess like the last time, right?" she started cutting up the pepperoni.

"Yes I can. I'm not stupid enough to repeat things twice." he said, pulling the dough out of the pile of ingredients.

They worked in a comfortable silence until Bella, being the klutz that she was, sliced her finger open. She started bleeding all over the place and she let out a hiss. She hit the floor at the sight of blood and Emmett didn't notice anything until Jasper walked in and saw her on the ground, bleeding. Ten minutes after it happened. "Emmett, what did you do to her?" he asked, picking Bella up. "I mean, I know she insulted your brain, but you didn't have to kill her." he laughed. He took Bella out to his nineteen sixty-seven Camero. He'd had it custom painted red and black. Jasper drove Bella to the hospital where she woke and was given twenty stitches from the new doctor, Carlisle.

Once home Jasper put her straight to bed and finished making the dinner for the family. He noticed that the blood and everything else had been cleaned up. He also noticed a note that told him that his pizza was in the oven, staying warm. He noticed that it was Emmett's scrawl, which he'd also written an apology to Bella.

Jasper ate his pizza then retired to his room, which was painted red and black like his Camero. He had tons of band posters on the wall, including his favorite band, My Chemical Romance. He'd loved them since the day that "Welcome to the Black Parade" came out. He soon fell asleep, dreaming of finding a girl that loved him and meeting other guys that didn't think he was gay, which most of the school did since he hadn't dated any of the girls there.

Emmett had a room of blue and gold, his favorite college football team was the Michigan Wolverines and he'd gone to Midland High School when they lived in Michigan. He'd been a freshmen when he went there and they'd left in the middle of his sophomore year. He had his football and band posters. Many of the bands were rap stars like Big Tymers, 50 Cent, and Eminem.

Josh and Jake had the same room, except it was double the size of everyone else's. Half of the room, exactly, was purple, and the other half black. They weren't made fun of having purple as half of their room color, but people though it weird. The wall where their headboards were to the center of the room was purple and the other half, where their dressers and desks were was black. They had tons of band posters on the wall, mostly rock and metal bands like Slayer, The Devil Wears Prada, Three Days Grace, Metallica, Devil Driver, and Black Sabbath. They had only Eminem posters and refused to put up any movie posters. They didn't like how directors were approaching the art of making a film.

Every one of the Swan kids had their own laptops, Sidekicks, iPods, and cars. Even though the twins were still too young to drive, being fifteen, they each had a Mustang GT. Emmett had a tricked out truck, Jasper had his Camero, and Bella had a Monte Carlo SS. Everyone at Forks High glared at the Swan kids because of their parents and the money they had. They didn't care that their parents were rock legends because they had been raised to believe that they were the same as everyone else. They hadn't been treated differently until middle school. Each one of them had to go through the horrors of everyone knowing what they did and when since they were in the magazines and papers all the time. When they moved to Forks, dozens of paparazzi swarmed them. They had no peace.

The Swan boys were really protective of Bella. They always scared away any boy that she wanted to date and she yelled at them for it. But she knew that they got it from their dad because he was like that when he was home. She'd dated some boys, secretly, but when her brothers found out that she'd lost her virginity to Max Smith, she never saw him again. She didn't know if he moved of if they buried him somewhere. She didn't bother to ask. She'd gotten a lecture from Emmett and Jasper that lasted for five hours. It only stopped because they were hungry and she was the only one that knew how to make really good meals.

* * *

**EPOV:**

Edward was lying on his bed, thinking of Bella. He'd regretted telling her that he couldn't eat dinner with them. He wanted to stay over, anything to keep him away from home. His parents had a huge fight, again, and he was caught in the middle of it. They usually didn't vent their frustrations on him, but every once in awhile he would be found by his mom in the closet and she would yell at him. It rarely ever escalated into physical violence, but he had been hit a time or two by his dad and pushed down staircases by his mother. This time, it had become physical when his dad pushed his mother down the stairs. He'd gotten angry and in his dad's face when he was pushed on top of his mother. He yelled at his dad and ended up with a few broken toes. Something that would cause him a lot of pain and wouldn't matter if he went to the hospital for or not. They couldn't do anything with it.

He never thought of telling anyone what happened, just let it be. There had only been two times when he'd intervened in their fights. The first time was when his dad-basically step dad-pushed his mom off of a cliff and made her lose the baby that she'd been carrying. Earlier had been the second.

His mom, Esme, had married Carlisle when he'd been six. Carlisle officially adopted him so he was renamed Edward Cullen, instead of Fisher. He didn't want Carlisle's last name. In fact, he hated it. He witnessed a lot of fights between the two since then and nothing ever seemed right. He had seen how Carlisle worked-with absolute schedule. Dinner was to be on the table by five-thirty and the dishes were to be done by seven. The house had to be spotless when he came home and Edward had to be present during dinner. Nobody could miss the "family" dinner.

He pulled out his CD player and put in his favorite CD. It was Indestructible by Disturbed. He listened to his favorite track-"Inside the Fire". It wasn't supposed to be out yet, but he had a friend who knew someone in the producing business that got one for him. He knew that it was a privilege to actually have a CD before it came out. Carlisle, even though he was richer than shit never spent any money on Edward. He only bought what Edward absolutely needed and nothing else. Edward didn't have any designer clothes, unless you count Wal Mart as a designer, or any fancy computers or anything. His old Dell computer was slower than molasses in January and the Internet rarely worked. Edward paid attention to the lyrics of the song, instead of the yells from his mom and dad.

_Ohh Devon_

_Won't go to Heaven_

_She's just another lost soul, about to be mine again_

_Leave her_

_We will receive her_

_It is beyond your control_

_will you ever meet again_

Edward thought of his dad, who was dead. He wondered if he was in Heaven or Hell, if there were such things. He didn't care if there were, he just liked thinking about his dad.

_Devon_

_No longer living_

_Who had been rendered unwhole_

_As a little child_

_She was taken_

_And then forsaken_

_You will remember it all_

_Let it blow your mind again_

_Devon lies beyond this portal_

_Take the word of one immortal_

_Give your soul to me_

_For eternity_

_Release your life_

_To begin another time with her_

_End your grief with me_

_There's another way_

_Release your life_

_Take your place inside the fire with her_

At this Edward wondered what would happen if his mom, or a girl that he liked-possibly loved-died. He wondered if he would sell his soul to the devil to get that person back. He concluded that he probably would, because it would be someone that he loved.

_Sever, Now and forever_

_You're just another lost soul about to_

_Be mine again_

_See her? You'll never free her_

_You must surrender it all_

_If you'd like to meet again_

_Fire, for you're desire_

_As she begins to turn cold for the final time_

_You will shiver, till you deliver_

_You will remember it all_

_Let it blow your mind again_

_Devon lies beyond this portal_

_Take the word of one immortal_

_Give your soul to me_

_For eternity_

_Release your life_

_To begin another time with her_

_End your grief with me_

_There's another way_

_Release your life_

_Take your place inside the fire with her_

_Give your soul to me_

_For eternity_

_Release your life_

_To begin another time with her_

_End your grief with me_

_There's another way_

_Release your life_

_Take your place inside the fire with her_

_Ohh Devon_

_No longer living_

_Who had been rendered unwhole_

_As a little child_

_She was taken_

_And then forsaken_

_You will remember it all_

_Let it blow your mind again_

As the song ended Edward looked at the picture of his dad that was sitting on his bedside table. He'd never forgotten it when they'd moved all those times, but he always seemed to forget that it was next to him. Edward's thoughts soon turned to Bella, who he was beginning to like. Even though he'd just met her, he knew that she was perfect for him. Suddenly feeling warm he walked outside. "Mum, I'm going for a walk." he yelled, doubting that she'd heard him. He walked the grounds of the mansion that Carlisle decided to buy and into the forest. He didn't care that there might be dangerous animals-he just wanted to get away from the drama that he called his life.

Since he'd been fifteen-three years ago-he'd been misunderstood. He'd taken up to hurting himself so he could get some of his frustrations off. He didn't want to hurt anyone, which is why he did it. It helped a lot and he liked it. He never thought of cutting so deep that he bled too much. He always cut just enough so the pain would sear his arm and he wouldn't need stitches.

Tonight, he'd brought his "special" blade with him for just that cause. He wanted to rid himself of that pain inside. He walked until he found a secluded copse of trees. He sat in the middle of it and started humming the melody to the song that he had listened to not fifteen minutes before. He drowned out his surroundings and started his process. First he took his shirt and pants off so he wouldn't get any blood on them and sat on the ground in his boxers. Next he pulled out a dish cloth from the front pocket of his jeans to wipe the blood from his arm and blade. Next he pulled out the knife. It was silver with a blue handle. The handle had intricate designs on it, in a vine-ish pattern. He drew a circle around his body and started whispering. "_Accept this...thy gift of blood...to wash away thy pain._" he'd said this every time that he'd cut himself to make sure that he didn't anger any spirits. He swiftly cut three lines on his left wrist, the another three on his right. He made sure that some of the blood from both wrists soaked into the ground before wiping them off. He made sure that the blade was clean and he burnt the dish cloth. He didn't want his mother finding it in his room somewhere. He made sure to put the fire out before leaving.

Once home he put his knife away and put on his CD player. He listened to the soothing sounds of Suicide Silence as he drifted to sleep.

* * *

Bella was getting ready for another day at school. She hated that she was a junior, along with Jasper who was her fraternal twin. They acted as if they weren't, but basically everyone knew that they were. Emmett was the only single birth that Renee'd had. She put on one of her favorite black dresses. It had red trim on it and it made her brothers angry at her for wearing. And at the moment she felt like pissing them off to no extent. That was why she planned to kiss a random guy every time one of them walked toward her.

She didn't really know why she was angry, she just was. It had something to do with the fact that Emmett didn't notice that she'd sliced her finger and that the younger twins didn't help her make the dinner. She'd also overslept thanks to Emmett who unplugged her alarm. She wanted to murder all of them, possibly save Jasper.

She pranced to her car, being sure that all of them saw her attire and drove to school early. When she saw Emmett walking toward her, in the school yard, she pulled Justin DeVine to her and fully kissed him. Then she simply walked away. This angered Emmett enough so he threw Justin against a tree and told him to never look at her again. He, of course, nodded his head and went to his first class.

All throughout the day he saw her kissing random guys and all throughout the day he threatened each and every one of them. They all stayed away from her for the whole day, but when Jasper overheard Mike Newton saying that he wanted to "tap that," he pulled him out into the hall and broke his nose.

Bella didn't care who got hurt in her conquest to make her brothers angry. She just wanted to put them in a pissy mood, like she was in.

After school, when everyone was at home, Emmett started in on her. "Why the hell were you doing that today? It made you look like a slut Bells." he said, sitting her down on the sofa. Jake, Josh, and Jasper sat in various seats throughout the room.

"Yeah, Bells. I had to break Newton's nose for saying that he wanted to 'tap' you." Jasper said, cracking his knuckles.

"What?!" Emmett yelled. "I'm going to fucking kill him!" he started to get up but Bella pushed him back down.

"I don't care what you guys think. I was trying to prove that I'm growing up. You guys don't think that I can handle having a boyfriend. You guys are smothering me! I can't stand it. And until you can change just a little bit I'm going to Rose's. And don't think about coming over to 'visit' her, Em. I won't stay there if you do and I won't tell you where I go." she stalked to her room and packed a bag. She'd already asked Rose at school if she could stay the week out. Her friend, who happened to be Emmett's girlfriend willingly agreed.

She left her house in a hurry and arrived at Rose's in less than ten minutes.

**A/N: I hope that you like t he first chapter of this story. I liked writing it. It came to me while I was listening to the song "Inside the Fire" by Disturbed. All of the bands mentioned are great bands and I can give you at least one good song by each of them. I do not own the songs or bands themselves, I've just borrowed the names of the bands and songs, and sometimes I will borrow the lyrics. All credit goes to the bands for singing the songs. Anyway, I hoped you liked this enough to review for it. If you liked this I have four other Twilight fics. Here Without You was just finished, Even in Death is slowly getting updated, Home is being refurbished from Leaving One Home Finding Another-a story that I deleted before-and a Lips of an Angel songfic that is complete. If you like Inkheart/Inkspell I have a story called I Will Always Find A Way Back To You and the Sequel, I Will Always Find you. I have a Harry Potter fic out, Meaning of Life that I'm trying to get to. If I get five reviews then I will post the next chapter. Hurry and get those Reviews in. Thank you!!**

**--AMS**


	2. Chapter 2

****

Disclaimer: I'm not Stephenie Meyer

"I'm worried about Edward." Bella said, painting her toenails. "He seemed so...distant when I asked him about staying for dinner."

"Don't worry. Maybe he did have to help his mom unpack." Rose said, pulling out her cherry red lip gloss. "Besides," she started to dab it on Bella's lips, "you're going out with Dakota now. You shouldn't worry about any other boys."

"Yeah. That would only complicate a complex situation." Alice mumbled, tongue between her teeth, trying to fix Bella's unruly hair.

"Thanks for not telling my brothers about my relationship status. Or my 'history'. It means a lot that you're doing this for me." Bella put on the velvet heels, black to go with her dress and purse. She had been given the items for her date tonight, from Dakota Fyre. Her current boyfriend.

"No problem. We know how they get about you dating and having sex. Trust us, we do not mind helping a girl out. Not to mention Emmett's with me and Alice has been our friend since elementary school. We can keep them in line for the most part. Also, that automatically makes us sisters." Rose said, fixing Bella's make-up for the billionth time.

"Just be sure that it's not another Johnny. If you manage to get another Jackass, we'll be sure to tell Em, and Jazz. 'Kay?" Alice straightened the dress and sprayed her new Chanel perfume all over.

"I won't let the relationship last that long if he does turn out to be another Johnny. I had to lie my ass off to stop m brothers from finding out the real reason behind my 'accidents'." Bella rubbed her left arm, which had been in a cast for three months. Though she'd gotten it off less than six months ago, she could still remember the pain that he'd put her through with it.

"We'll kill him if he goes bad. Now have a good time and don't fall." Alice and Rose pushed her to a taxi that was supposed to take her to a fancy club in Port Angeles. Dakota, her boyfriend of three weeks, was a photographer for the Rolling Stones magazine. He was twenty-one, four years older than Bella and had a promising career. He didn't care about that. He only cared about the people that were close to his heart.

"Hey babe." he said once Bella arrived at the club: Le Chic. He paid the driver and took her inside. "You look stunning." he kissed her and lead her to the top balcony.

"As do you." she replied, breathless from his kiss. They danced to a few slow songs before getting some drinks. "Water please." she said when Dakota asked what she wanted. She found them a booth and sat in it, waiting for his return. Moments later he sat beside her, giving her a water, and drinking his beer. Bella sipped her water and could feel something buzzing through it. She figured it was how their water was, not because of any other substance. She sat, listening to the music when she felt the urge to go over to Dakota.

_I wanna unbutton your pants, just a little bit_

Bella sat on his lap, facing him, and started sucking on his lower lip.

_Take 'em off, or pull 'em down, just a little bit_

Bella crushed her body to his, kissing him full on. She knew that he was enjoying it because of the bulge in his pants. She would have continued but she made the mistake of looking over the railing. She saw something that she never would have imagined: Emmett and Jasper. They were staring right at her. "Oh shit!" she yelled as they walked toward the stairs. "Dakota, you might want to--"

"Bella." Emmett growled, venom and malice in his voice, blocking all of the exit possibilities. Jasper was behind him, glaring at Dakota and the position that their sister was in. "Who the fuck is this?" he asked, pointing to Dakota.

"Look dude, I didn't know that she was your girlfriend. Sh--"

"Ew, no. Dakota, these are my brothers. That's Emmett. Jasper's behind him, focussed on hating you. They're both older than me...and protective, even though Jasper's only ten minutes older. Emmett, Jasper, this was-is-my boyfriend, Dakota." Bella said, standing in front of Emmett.

"Yo, what's your last name?" Emmett asked, moving around Bella and sitting next to Dakota. Jasper sat on his other side and Bella sat between her brothers, across from Dakota.

"Fyre. M-my last name is Fyre." he replied, looking around the club.

"You're that Play Girl photographer aren't you?" Emmett shouted at the exact moment that the music, and talking, stopped.

"N-no. Th-that's not m-me." he stuttered, trying to get away.

He failed miserably. "'Course it is. There aren't many Dakota Fyres running around." Emmett started laughing. "Now, you two are going to follow me, and go before Jasper, out to the parking lot. So we can talk in private. Understand?" they nodded and did as Emmett said.

* * *

Emmett couldn't believe that Bella left for Rose's and expected him to stay away. He itched to see his girlfriend away from school. He thought of calling her and asking her to come over, but knew that she wouldn't leave Bella alone. He cursed at Bella, punching his punching bag. He hated that all of the boys at school liked her. He figured that she wouldn't use it to her advantage but he'd been wrong... again.

Two days had passed since Bella went to Rose's and Emmett was ready to apologize to her for being such an ass that day. He drove himself to Rose's house, but saw her get into a cab. He quickly called Jasper, who was at the Community Center, playing basketball with his friends. He followed the cab to the new club in Port Angeles. He saw her leave the cab and sped to the CC and picked Jasper up. He explained what he saw on the way and they burst into the club twenty minutes later. The song, Just A Little Bit by 50 Cent was playing. They knew that it was one of Bella's favorite songs.They knew that she would dance as risque as possible to this song, because she'd loved the beat to it. She danced to it 24/7 at home, and didn't want to think of what she'd do if she had someone, other than her brothers, near her.

_I wanna unbutton your pants, just a little bit_

Emmett pointed to the balcony and they saw Bella, sitting on a guys lap, and kissing him.

_Take 'em off, or pull 'em down, just a little bit_

They watched as she started crushing herself to the guy. They glared at her and when she looked at them, they knew that she was scared for the guy's life. They rushed up the stair case and made sure that neither of them could get away. "Dakota you might want to--" they heard her say.

"Bella." Emmett growled, throwing venom into it, looking at Dakota. Jasper glared at him, waiting for his brother to give a sign of what they were going to do."Who the fuck is this?" he pointed to Dakota, making sure that there was a lot of malice in his voice.

"Look dude, I didn't know that she was your girlfriend. Sh--"

"Ew, no. Dakota, these are my brothers. That's Emmett. Jasper's behind him, focused on hating you. They're both older than me...and protective, even though Jasper's only ten minutes older. Emmett, Jasper, this was-is-my boyfriend, Dakota." Bella said. She moved so that she was in front of Dakota, supposedly protecting him from Emmett and Jasper.

"Yo, what's your last name?" Emmett moved around Bella so he was sitting on Dakota's left and Jasper followed suit so that he was sitting on Dakota's right. Bella, having no other choice, sat across from Dakota.

"Fyre. M-my last name is Fyre." Emmett watched as he looked around the club. He chuckled inwardly. The coward would never learn that there was no escape when Emmett Cullen was after him.

"You're that Play Girl photographer aren't you?" he timed the sentence so that everything was quiet. He knew from experience, that it would scare the shit out of the guy.

"N-no. Th-that's not m-me." he tried to stand and move away but was unsuccessful.

"'Course it is. There aren't many Dakota Fyres running around." Emmett was laughing like a lunatic, but suddenly stopped. "Now, you two are going to follow me, in front of Jasper, out to the parking lot. So we can talk in private. Understand?" they nodded and did exactly as Emmett said.

* * *

"Emmett, let him go. Alright? He didn't do anything to me. I instigated the actions. I'm the one to blame. Please don't hurt him." Bella begged her brother to see reason, but didn't think he would. He never did when it came to her dates. "Besides, how did you know where I was? Did one of the girls tell you?"

"What do ya mean?" Jasper asked, sitting on the car hood. He pulled out a lighter and began making the flames do tricks.

"Never mind. It's none of your business. _Please_ Em, let Dakota go. Please?" she did her best puppy dog face. Their dad was always weakened at it, so she hoped that Emmett would be too.

"Fine! Ugh...get the fuck out of here before I change my mind. You aren't allowed to see my sister, talk to my sister, or think about her. Okay? She's too fucking young for you, and besides...you don't even like chicks." Emmett said, pushing Jasper off the hood of the car and Bella into it.

"I'm not gay. And I only took that job, three years ago, because it payed well. I didn't enjoy it..." Dakota said, getting in Emmett's face.

"You better back down, because you take one step toward me, I'm going to hit you so hard you're great-great-great-great-great grand kids are gonna feel it. Got it?" Emmett stepped to his open door.

"Whatever. She was too immature for me anyway." Bella looked shocked, then started crying hysterically. Upon seeing their younger sister crying, Emmett and Jasper stepped away from the car and started beating the hell out of Dakota.

Jasper held Dakota's arms, so Emmett could pummel him, but Dakota kept getting away. In turn, Emmett held Dakota down while Jasper punched his face, repeatedly. He kept punching him until they were sure that he was unconscious. Emmett, not getting to really participate in the "violent" part, snapped Dakota's leg, in three places. They were content with their work.

Ten minutes later they walked away, after telling him not to contact Bella in any way. They drove away, leaving Dakota in the dust with a broken nose and leg. They got home in record time and Jasper gave Bella her favorite ice cream-Chocolate Moose Tracks-and they sat in the living room watching her favorite movie-Cry Baby. Every once in a while she would start sobbing, in which Jasper and Emmett took turns consoling her. She fell asleep during the last half hour of the movie and Emmett carried her to her room. It faced east and had a great view of the yard and the parks that little kids played at.

Bella dreamed of Edward that night, as she had since she'd met him.

_They were at her house and he was eating the pizza that she was going to make on the night that he'd been invited over. Instead of talking, Edward wrote down the answers to her questions in a language that she'd never seen before. She kept asking him to speak to her, but he wouldn't. She grabbed his wrist as he began writing in that strange tongue and his sleeve moved up. She saw scars on it. She screamed, then backed away, scared_.

That was when she woke, Emmett pounding on her door.

* * *

Edward couldn't believe that his mother had pitched a fit about his religion. He believed in spirits, but no God, so many called him Atheist He didn't care what others called him, so long as they didn't preach about a God that he didn't believe existed. He was shocked that his mother didn't accept his religious preferences. Carlisle, who was a clergy type of guy, started saying that he was possessed by a demon that was out to get the family. Edward laughed at his step dad and slammed his door in the old man's face.

Edward knew that his mother was going to get an ear full about his "unholiness" but he didn't care. He'd been dreaming of the Swan girl since that night that she'd invited him to dinner. He still kicked himself for declining. He clutched his pillow, which had the pentagram on it, and started drifting.

That night was no different than the other four. He dreamed of Bella, but this time it was a different kind of dream.

_Edward looked around and saw a stone platform below him. There was fire all around it and Bella was on it. She appeared to be sleeping, but he didn't know. Soon a figure popped up. "Ohh Bella, won't go to heaven. She's just another lost soul__, about to be mine again. Leave her, we will receive her. It is beyond your control, will you ever meet again." he said, grabbing onto the back of Edward's neck. He made Edward look down onto the fire pit and platform. He saw Bella squirming suddenly, then lay still._

"_Bella, no longer living. Who had been rendered unwhole as a little child. She was taken. And then forsaken. You will remember it all. Let it blow your mind again." he said, the fires rose and were a quarter near the platform. Edward felt the urge to scream to Bella, but couldn't find his voice._

"_Bella lies beyond this portal." the figure pointed to the veil that was above the pit. Edward hadn't noticed it before. "Take the word of one immortal." Feeling a burst of pain, Edward screamed. He watched, unwillingly, as Bella's body, supposedly dead, writhed on the platform. He didn't like how her back would arch then fall suddenly._

_Suddenly the figure turned to Edward, and made him face the other way. "Give your soul to me. For eternity. Release your life to begin another time with her." the figure blew acrid air into Edward's face. Edward started coughing as the figure began speaking again, "End your grief with me, there's another way. Release your life, take your place inside the fire with her." he pointed Edward's face down, toward the fire, and watched as the flames rose, halfway to Bella and the platform._

_Edward tried to look away, tried to not see Bella, his beloved Bella, writhing on the platform. "Sever, now and forever. You're just another lost soul about to be mine again." Edward noticed that the figure had popped down and was whispering to Bella, though he could hear the words as clear as he had when the figure was with him._

_He looked around for an exit, but didn't find one. Suddenly the figure had hold of his neck again. "See her? You'll never free her. You must surrender it all, if you'd like to meet again." he said, making Bella scream as the largest of flames licked her skin. Edward blinked back tears, knowing that they would do no good for her._

"_Fire, for your desire." the figure started laughing as more flames licked Bella's skin. Edward watched as it turned black. _

"_P-please!" he screamed as more flames seared Bella's skin._

_Without a beat he continued his speech. "As she begins to turn cold for the final time." Edward saw Bella shivering. "_You_ will shiver, til you deliver, you will remember it all." he said to her, popping to the platform and back. To Edward he said, "let it blow your mind again."_

_The tears that Edward had blinked back started to cloud his vision, and he wiped them away. He couldn't stand watching Bella suffer. "Bella lies beyond this portal, take the word of one immortal." he repeated, once again pointing to the veil. "Give your soul to me, for eternity. Release your life to begin another time with her. End your grief with me, there's another way, release your life. Take your place inside the fire with her." he watched as Edward started crying harder, sobs wracking his body._

"_Ohh, Bella, no longer living. Who had been rendered unwhole as a little child. She was taken, and then forsaken. You will remember it all, let it blow your mind again." finally the figure released Edward, who jumped into the pit to save Bella._

Edward jolted up. He was sweating profusely. He looked at the clock, which read 5:30 AM. He stood, making sure that nothing was out of the ordinary. "Phew. Just a dream." he sighed in relief, turning off the alarm. He felt no need to use it since he was already up. He took a shower, using Old Spice shampoo and body wash (**A/N: EEK! Edward and Old Spice...yummy!**). He loved that kind, but his mother thought it too expensive. Which was why he paid for his own bathroom accessories. He finished his shower and dressed in his wrangler jeans and a black t-shirt. He put on his boots, a gift from his best friend from Oklahoma, and drove his beat up Ford truck to school. He was a few hours early, but he didn't mind, he needed to catch up on his reading if he was going to beat Aiden, the best friend from Oklahoma, in the online quizzes.

**A/N: Okay, here's the second chapter. This was beta-ed by Word Nazi. I hope that you like it. Play Girl is the "porno" magazine that features guys. I just thought of it as an embarrassing moment for Dakota. I want a few more reviews for this chapter..at least three more than what I got for the first chapter. I'm glad that you guys liked the first chapter enough to review. Thanks. Special thanks to Amber for being the first reviewer for that chapter. Anyway, this was five pages typed up on my word processing document. I hope that it fits your need to have long chapters. I'm sure that it will..or at least I hope it will. Thanks again for reading, and please...--begs--review. The button is just beckoning to you. Oh and if you have any stories of your own that you want me to read...just leave it in the review. Thanks. --AMS**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I'm not Stephenie Meyer**

Bella woke, startled, that she'd had a dream like that. She looked at the clock, which read 6:35, and gathered her toiletries. She locked the door of the bathroom and took her shower-using her usual Rose Petal shampoo and conditioner-she'd gotten tired of the strawberry kind so opted for the rose scented one. She was out of the shower in ten minutes and quickly dressed in her Disturbed tee and her favorite hip-huggers. She put on her red and black vans and was ready to go-only to find that her Monte wouldn't start. She swore loudly and walked back into the house. This time Jasper and the twins were up, Emmett nowhere to be seen. "Jazz, can I get a ride?" she asked, taking a cup from the cupboard and filling it with coffee.

"Sure. No pr-problem." he yawned, following her actions and drinking his coffee. "When do you want to leave?"

"Anytime. I have to meet Rose and Alice in the abandoned science lab at lunch, so I'm not going to be sitting with you guys today, 'kay?" she looked at her brothers, waiting for one of them to object. She figured that Emmett, at least, would try and stay with her at all times.

"Whatever. Let's go." he said, picking up his keys. He'd prized the Camero since their parents had gotten it for him. She put her bag in the back seat and climbed in the front. She was ready to go when she saw Jasper walking out, talking to someone. He was laughing-for once-and that was how Bella knew it was a girl.

She waited 'til he hung up the phone to ask him, "Who was that?" she was smiling.

"None of your business..." he replied, driving to the school. Bella noticed that he was blushing. She smiled to herself, thinking that it was about time that Jasper got a girlfriend. Most of the guys at school made fun of him because he decided not to date the sluts of the school-Lauren and Jessica. Emmett always put the jocks in their place when they made fun of Jasper, but he couldn't control what the teachers said behind closed doors. Everyone knew that the school was completely anti-homosexual, but they couldn't keep the homosexual students out, or harass them. They dealt with it, mostly by being unfair to the students. None of the Swan kids wanted to attend the school, but they had to since it was the only private school there and Renee and Charlie didn't want them to attend a public school.

Unlike normal private schools, this one didn't have a fixed uniform. You had to wear t-shirts and jeans, no shirts or tank tops, and tennis shoes of some sort. Some days, like the day that Bella wore her black dress, that was low cut, and really short, that had the red trim on the collar and hem, the dean allowed you to dress up. You had to have special permission from the dean himself to wear the item, though. Bella had wanted to piss off her brothers as badly as possible that day so she'd gotten the permission from the dean the week before and wore the item to school. There was no censoring of the language on the clothing there, because if there was vulgar language you were kicked out of it. "I have no clue how Lauren Mallory and Jessica Stanley got accepted into Forks Prep. They're so...I don't know..." Bella trailed off, at a loss for words.

"Trashy." Jasper finished, laughing at Bella. "They got in because their parents donated half the library and a new wing to the school when it was first being built. The dean had to admit those to, not that he wanted to."

"How do you know these things?" she asked him, grabbing her bag as Eric slid in the back seat. Jasper usually gave Eric a ride to school since his mom had taken away his car. Bella greeted Eric and turned to her brother.

They both had the chocolate brown color that their mother had given them, but blue eyes. They had been told that when they were little they'd had really blond hair. They looked almost alike, but they had different facial features. Bella had taken after Renee and Jasper had taken after Charlie. Bella was on the short side, while Jasper was almost taller than Emmett. Bella was soft-hearted, and helpful, while Jasper was quite, and stayed to himself. They weren't too different. They liked some of the same bands and television shows-though none of the Swan kids watched much television. They each had a show on a certain day that they would watch every week, then not pay attention to the television until the next episode was on.

"It pays to work in the office and library sometimes. I hear gossip every day in there. You should try it." he replied, pulling into a parking space. "Now, get out before I push you out." he laughed, grabbing his bag. He watched as she walked away, laughing, and Eric stumble out of the back seat.

"C'mon man! When are you gonna let me have a chance at her?" Eric asked, closing the door.

"How about...NEVER!" Jasper laughed, turning on the alarm to the car. "She's my sister dude. I'm not going to let you go out with her...especially since she's just broken up with this other guy."

"Who would want to break up with her? She's smokin' hot!" Eric said, walking with Jasper to his class.

"Well...it was that photographer...uh, Dakota something. It was a weird last name, but he dumped her when me an Em told him to stay away from her. Said she was too...immature for him." Jasper said, grasping his bag so hard that his knuckles turned white.

"What an ass. You should'a called me so I could've consoled her! AGH! You don't want me to ever have a girlfriend do you?" Eric yelled, causing the students in the schoolyard to look at them.

"Thanks, Yorkie. Give the jerk offs another reason to think I'm gay." Jasper said, anger seeping into his voice. "Find your own ride home. I'm tired of you trying to hook up with my sister." Jasper pushed Eric away from him and ran to his first class-Math.

Bella watched Jasper walk to Math, which she had also. She followed him and saw that the classroom was empty, except for him, of course. She sat beside him and gave him a hug. "Thanks Jazz, for defending me. If you want, I'll ask Alice if she likes you. I know you have a crush on her. Okay?" she asked, rubbing his back.

"Really?" he asked, looking up. "Sure...thanks Bells." he smiled, just in time for the biggest jock of the school-Ben-(I know! Lol, how funny!)walk into the room. Ben had made fun of Jasper and Bella since kindergarten.

"If it ain't the incest twins." he said, standing in their way. "Going to go home and make retard babies?" his friends, who were hiding in behind Ben, laughed.

"Get the hell away from us Cheney." Bella said, standing up.

"Why, so you and you're emo brother can do it in the classroom? Nasty. Maybe I should tell Mr. Varner about this thing going on between you two...unless you go out with me." he directed the last statement toward Bella. She made a gagging sound and Jasper laughed. "What are you laughing at fag? You can't get anyone to date you except your slut of a sister." Jasper sat back, shocked that Ben dared insult him, and Bella.

"Take it back, Cheney." Emmett said, stepping into the doorway. "Or I'll make you." Emmett was easily the biggest guy at school, and Ben was the second biggest, but he didn't come close to Emmett's strength.

"Why? I'm only stating the truth. Your brother, here, is a fag, and your sister is a whore. Why else would my step-brother go out with her." upon seeing the puzzled looks on their faces, he laughed. "My step-brother is Dakota Fyre. You're bitch of a sis-" he didn't get any farther.

Emmett lunged at him, taking him to the ground, and Jasper started hitting him as hard as he could. With their combined strength, they were able to knock him out, but didn't see Ben's friend going toward Bella. That was when she started hitting them, using her karate training to keep them away. She was not as strong as them but held them off until Jake and Josh arrived. "Ready bro?" Josh asked, taking out a sling shot.

"Ready." Jake replied. They loaded water balloons onto the sling shot and made the guys going after Bella move back. "Bells. Go get the dean." Jake started to run out of balloons and brought out his favorite of all weapons-his skateboard. He put it on the ground and started skating around the jocks and started using the last of his water balloons from the rear. They finally got the jocks herded into a small corner when the dean walked in.

"What's going on here?" he asked the boys, who were keeping the jocks in the corner with water balloons in their hands and Emmett and Jasper, who'd walked away from Ben's whining body.

"You see sir," Josh started...

"These guys tried to hurt our sister..." Jake finished. Dean Simms looked at the twins, in awe at how they could finish each others' sentences.

"How do you know that? How do I know if you guys started this fight, or they did?" he asked. It was a logical decision, but everyone in the room had chosen sides.

"Security tapes." Emmett said, sitting across from Bella and Jasper. He'd always taken his siblings' sides, because they were family and nobody got any closer than that.

"Fine." the dean said, beckoning for security guards. They brought the tapes to the dean and he watched them. "It seems that Ben, you started this fight between yourself, your friends, and the Swan family. I'm sorry but I'm going to have to suspend you. Jake, Josh you two used balloons and a skateboard in this facility. Both are prohibited and named as weapons. I'm sorry, but you both are expelled from the school. Jasper, you, of course, have the right to press harassment charges on Ben and the others-if you choose. Bella you also have that right. However I'm going to have to expel you Jasper, and Emmett, for physical violence on Ben. He too has the right to press charges. The only one out of it all that can continue going to this school is Bella. You four have the rest of the day to get your books returned and to say your farewells to your friends. Good day." The Swans stood there, shocked that they'd been kicked out.

Bella knew that she was going to leave, if her brothers had to leave she didn't want to stay without them. She pulled Rose and Alice aside and told them what happened. They continued on to their classes, breezing through Math, History, Gym, and French. They met at the science lab and started talking. "Okay, first of all, Alice. Do you like Jasper? It seems that he needs someone to talk to besides us and he really likes you." Bella started.

"Yeah. Didn't he tell you?" Bella shook her head and Alice continued, "I just talked to him this morning. He asked me to go on a date with him on Saturday. I agreed."

"Oh. I see. Okay then. Next, my brothers got expelled for defending me and Jasper when _Ben_ only got suspended. I'm the only one that didn't but I'm going to leave here anyway. I hate this school." Bella continued.

"Bella...you can't leave us. If you do, then who'll we talk to every lunch?" Rose asked, pouting. She started writing on the blank chalk board. Nobody knew about the abandoned science lab since their was a new one on the other side of the building. It had been abandoned since before Bella and the twins went to the school.

"I think we'll be living here still...just getting home schooled. But by a tutor instead of our parents. Don't worry. You can chill at my house any time." Bella hugged her friends until they calmed down. "Oh! I almost forgot. Dakota broke up with me after Emmett and Jasper found out about our date the other night. But what was strange was that I didn't mind. I kinda want to date the new kid, Edward." she said, sitting at one of the lab tables. They didn't care if they were late to class because it was Bella's last day, and Rose and Alice wanted to spend every second with her. "And I had a dream of him last night. He was at my house and..."

"_Edward? What's wrong?" Bella asked Edward, who was sitting across from her. She watched Edward move his mouth and not hearing anything. Instead, he pulled a notepad and started writing. **.dad pets ym morf yawa teg em pleh** He pushed the pad over to Bella and she tried to make sense of it. She didn't know what to do with hit. "I-I don't understand you Edward. Why are you writing weird?" **.mih morf yawa teg ot deen I** Edward wrote, pushing the paper back to her. Bella still couldn't understand the writing, though she figured that it was simple. She couldn't make her mind grasp the way that the words looked familiar._

**"**_**!mih morf yawa em teg."** Edward yelled, falling to the floor. Bella watched his heart rate increase and she tried to get him up. He was twitching, and moaning in pain. She felt his head and he was burning up.** "!?****Esaelp"** he lay still, passed out._

"That was when I woke. I still don't know what the words were, but I remember how he wrote them." She relayed them on the chalk board, writing them as they had been on the paper from her dream. She thought it peculiar that there were punctuation marks before the sentences began.

"Don't you see Bella?" Rosalie asked. "The sentences are backwards." she took the chalk from Bella's hands. "It reads, _Help me get away from my step dad. _Then, _I need to get away from him. _Next it says, _Get me away from him!_ And finally, _Please?!_ Apparently he doesn't want to be near his step-dad."

"Wow, it's so simple. I never actually thought of that. Thanks you two. Why would he want to get away from his step dad so bad? I mean, how could anyone that hot have problems with a step parent?" Bella hugged her best friends. She didn't notice the figure standing in the doorway, watching them.

"Can we help you?" Alice asked the figure, skipping over to him.

"Um..." he started, staring at the three.

"Hey Edward." Bella said, walking over to him. She grabbed his hand and pulled him into the room. "What's wrong?" she asked, sitting him down at a lab table. "Oh, guys this is Edward." Bella said to Alice and Rose. "Edward, this is Rose and Alice."

"H-hi." Edward replied. "Um could you point me to t-the Advanced Biology room? I, um, I'm kinda late for class." he looked around, nervous.

"Sure. I actually have to return my book to Mr. Banner, and that's where his class is. I'll take you there." Bella said, waving to her friends. She pulled Edward out to the hall and walked him to the other science lab. "So, do you want to come over for dinner, Edward?" she asked.

"Um...I'm kinda grounded...and I don't want to impose on you're family..." he started, blushing. **(I know, Edward blushing is OOC, but this is my fic...lol)**. He looked around. "Why do you have to return a school book. Aren't you a junior?"

"My brothers got expelled today and I'm not going to stay here and let them have all the fun with the tutor that my parents have to get." she shrugged. "The dean expelled them because Ben Cheney was picking on me and my twin, Jasper. He's the other one in the family with the brown hair."

"O-oh." he replied, smiling.

"Listen, Edward." Bella turned into an empty classroom. She shut the door behind them. "How much of that conversation back there did you hear?" she asked.

"Just the very end of it. I swear!" he said, "please, I didn't mean any harm by it." he started shaking. Instead of pressing, Bella took his face in her hands and kissed him. She deepened the kiss, but before anything went too far he pulled back. "What was that for?" he asked.

"If you heard the last part of my conversation with my friends, then you should know that I like you. And I don't care if you don't like me because I figured that not making a move would be a bad idea." she explained, sitting on a chair. "The science class you're looking for is right across the hall. Room 304. I"m not a bully, Edward, and I won't let my brothers know about that. But if you want to go out with me this Saturday, then come to my house tonight and ask Emmett, Jasper, Jake, and Josh for their permission. Trust me...that's the only way that we can go public about it." Bella left Edward, stunned. She took all of her things from her locker and dropped them off at the office. She left with Jasper, who was in there returning his things.

"Good day?" he asked, driving the Camero home.

"Yeah. Someone might come over and ask your guys' permission to date me. Be nice to him. And you didn't tell me that you and Alice were going out on Saturday. Good job, bro."

"Thanks. I just hope she doesn't turn out like Brittany or Jennifer did. They only wanted to get to the money that mom and dad leave us...which almost worked." Jasper had dated only two girls, and they'd been money crazed. They'd found out that his mom and dad were members of Star Fire, a famous band that played all over the world. They'd opened for Disturbed, Nickelback, Puddle of Mudd, and Linkin Park.

"She's not. If she were then she would've stolen money from me. So far every dollar that we have is in the bank."

Jasper turned into the driveway and parked. There was a strange red car sitting in his parking space. "Damn. Phil." they said together. They walked into the house, prepared for the lecture they were going to receive. Phil had always parked in Jasper's spot, since it was the closest to the door.

They walked into the living room and saw a big mess in it. There were clothes all over the place and shoes. They pillows from the couch were strewn all over the place. They followed the clothes trail to their mother's bedroom. Bella cautiously opened the door and what she saw horrified her. She screamed and Jasper ran up. He looked in the room and screamed. "Bella, Jasper, it's not what you think." their mother said, walking out of the room.

"What do you mean? You and Phil? Mom, come on. How could you do this to dad?" Jasper asked. Bella was still rubbing her eyes, trying to get the image out of her mind.

"Kids...he doesn't have to know." Phil said, pulling a pillow over his exposure. Renee had a sheet wrapped around her body, covering herself.

"Like hell he doesn't!" Bella yelled. She pushed Phil backward, into a wall, and ran out to the Camero. She waited for Jasper to come out and when he started the car and drove away she pulled out her phone. "I'm calling dad." she said.

"Hold on Bells. You do realize that this could be the end of their marriage. We should tell the others before you call. Okay?" Jasper had always been able to calm Bella down, and vice versa. They pulled into the school parking lot and saw Emmett standing by his truck and the twins waiting for him.

"Em, we need your help." Jasper said as he parked next to their brothers. "Mom...um..mom's home. But we kinda walked in on her and-"

"Nasty bro. Don't want to know about her and dad."

"Not dad. Phil." Bella finished. "I want to call and tell dad about it, but Jazzy wanted me to wait and ask you guys."

"Call him!" Emmett said, while the twins started thinking.

"We think that he should know." they replied slowly, pulling out their iPods.

"Well..time for the worst conversation of my life." Bella mumbled as she dialed her dad's cell.

"_Hello?"_ their father asked. Bella could tell that he was smiling, happy at something.

"Dad?" she asked, hesitant to ruin his good mood.

"_Bells? Hey baby girl. What's up?"_ He sounded surprised to hear her, though they talked every week.

"Um dad. We have some bad news." she murmered, hoping that he heard her. She didn't want to repeat anything.

"_Your brothers there? Tell them that I say 'hello'."_ he started laughing at his little joke. It was as if he knew that they knew what he said. They'd gone through that every day they talked.

"Yeah dad. I told them. Um dad, mom's home..." Bella trailed off, her courage dissipating at the sound of his good mood.

"_I know Bells. She said she needed a break to be with you guys. Did something happen to her? Is she okay?"_ he started to sound worried. Bella wanted to tell him that everything was fine, but she didn't know how.

"She's fine, I suppose. Nothing happened. She, um, Jasper and I...we caught her..." suddenly Emmett took the phone away from her and ignored her protests.

"Dad, mom's cheating on you with Phil." after a pause he continued, "no, Bells and Jazzy caught them going at it. Yeah...sure, we'll tell her for you. No prob. We love ya dad." Emmett hung up the phone and handed it to Bella. "There. Now we have to kick mom out of the house."

* * *

Edward stared at the wall in his science class, looking forward to the night. He called his mom and told her that he'd be gone for most of the night. Even when she protested he said that he was going to be gone. He was sure that Carlisle was going to be mad at him, but he didn't care. He was going to see Bella. He'd forgotten about the conversation that he'd overheard. He really had only heard her say that she thought that he was cute.

There were only ten minutes left...then he could leave and find his way to the Swan residence. He watched the clock, the minute hand moving so slowly. He wanted to get out of there. He'd had an amazing first day, but didn't like some of the teachers. Some of the students had already started taunting him because he was the "new kid." He never cared to make friends since Carlisle's job always made them move anyway.

With the bell he was out of the room before most of the other students. He walked to his locker, put the books that he needed to use for the homework in a backpack and slung it over one shoulder. He slammed his locker shut and walked out to the old truck that he'd been given. It was one of the only gifts that Carlisle had given him.

He turned on the radio and started listening to a good song.

_I'm over it  
You see I'm falling in the fast abyss  
Clouded by memories of the past  
At last I see _

He recognized it as "Forsaken" by Disturbed. He'd liked this song when it had first come out but forgot about it.

_I hear it fading, I can't speak it  
Oh yes you will take my grave  
You feeling, finding, always whining  
Take my hand now be alive _

_You see I cannot be forsaken  
Because I'm not the only one  
We walk amongst you feeding, raping  
Must we hide from everyone?  
_

The chorus of the song had always reminded him of the vampires that he read about in his books. He'd taken to reading vampire stories over the past few years.

_  
I'm over it  
Why can't we be together and erase it?  
Sleeping so long taking off the mask  
At last I see _

_My fear is fading, I can't speak it  
Oh yes you will take my grave  
You feeling, finding, always whining  
Take my hand now be alive _

_You see I cannot be forsaken  
Because I'm not the only one  
We walk amongst you feeding, raping  
Must we hide from everyone? _

_You see I cannot be forsaken  
Because I'm not the only one  
We walk amongst you feeding, raping  
Must we hide from everyone? _

_Everyone  
Everyone _

By the time that the song ended, Edward had reached Bella's house. He'd parked on the road, so that he wasn't blocking anyone's parking spot. He'd marveled at the house when he'd first seen it, and it still took his breath away.

He walked up to the door and rang the bell, waiting for someone to answer. Finally, after a moment or two, the bigger one, Emmett he'd guessed, answered the door. "Hey man." he said, opening the door. "Come on in." Edward shut the door after himself and followed Emmett into the living room. All of the kids were sitting on a huge couch and had a chair sitting across from it. "Bells told us that you were stopping by to ask us something. Go ahead." Emmett said, sitting right across from him.

"She told me that if I wanted to date her...that I would have to come and ask your guys' permission. So I would like to ask you, Emmett, Jasper, Jacob, and Joshua Swan, if I could have permission to go out with Bella on Saturday night?" he said, looking each one of them in the eyes.

"Let me and my brothers converse for a moment." Emmett said, leading the other three into another room. Bella was sitting farthest away from him and smiled. _You're doing great, _she mouthed to him. He gave a slight nod. Finally, Emmett and the others walked back in. "Okay, Cullen, you have to perform one test from each of us to prove that you really want to date our sister, and not use her in any way. Alright?"

"That's fine with me. What's my first test?" he asked.

"Jake, since you're the youngest you tell him you're test first." Emmett said, looking at his brother.

"He's not the youngest! I am!" Josh said, pouting.

"Whatever. God, you two can switch another time. Rock, paper, scissors, if you can't decide." Emmett said, throwing his hands in the air.

In the end, Jake won anyway. "Okay, Eddie...my test for you is to...kiss Bella, but not touch her with any part of your body except your lips. Now!" Edward nodded and moved to where Bella sat and kissed her, quickly, on the lips. He managed not to deepen it, or touch her face, though it was hard.

"My test is for you to watch her...eat an ice cream sundae without thinking any dirty thoughts about her...and me and Jake have a machine, that works, that tells us if you do. We tried it on Emmy before." Josh danced over to where the "machine" thing was and put it on Edward. It seemed that they knew that no guy could stand watching a girl eat ice cream with syrup, cherries, peanuts, and whipped cream on it without thinking of licking it off of their bodies. Edward, instead, focused on his grandmother washing her dentures as he watched Bella eat the sundae.

"Damn..he's better than we thought." Jasper said to Emmett as Edward passed the test. "Alright...my test for you is to...stay in a room full of hot girls and not look at any part of their body except their eyes. Understand?"

Edward looked at the boys, hoping that it was some sort of joke. Upon finding none of them laughing he knew that they were dead serious. He knew that if he wanted to date Bella, he had to get Emmett's approval, more than anyone else's. He looked at Bella, and she gave him a 'thumbs up' signal. He knew that he could finish these last two tests by thinking of other things. Edward nodded and an hour later he found himself in a room with fifty girls. All had blond hair and trampish clothes on. Somehow, Edward managed to pass that test as well. He walked out of the room, after the time that he'd been in there, and the girls pouted. He went into the bathroom and composed himself. He'd managed to get through it by thinking of how proud his mom would be if he started dating a "decent" girl. He knew that he would glow from the thought of it. He stayed in the room for an hour talking with them about advanced calculus. He'd stumped them and kept his eyes to their eyes.

"Edward, those were some easy tests," Emmett started, sitting down in his original spot, "but mine's going to be harder. You have to win in a wrestling match..against me. If you are to date our sister you're going to have to fight off some big dudes. Now, let's go out to the yard and wrestle." Jasper lead Edward out to the yard, where a ring had been set up with small ropes as the "walls" of the wrestling ring.

"First one to pin the other down, in any way, for three seconds wins. No do-overs, no rematches. Edward, you ready?" Asked Jasper. After Edward nodded, Jasper turned to Emmett. "You ready Emmett?" Emmett nodded and Jasper signaled the start to the match.

First, Emmett tried to rush Edward, found air, and noticed Edward in the opposite corner. He saw that Edward was fast, and knew he couldn't catch up to him. While Emmett was looking where Edward's body was supposed to be, Edward walked behind Emmett and got him in a half nelson. Emmett flipped Edward over his shoulders and had him in a head lock, but before he could pile drive him, Edward escaped and darted around the ring.

Edward looked at the audience watching, paying attention to Bella, and didn't notice Emmett coming toward him. He, luckily, glanced toward him and saw the larger man running toward him. Edward ducked away and watched Emmett ram into a post that kept the ropes up. Edward tried to keep his laughter from coming out as he put Emmett in the headlock. He was pulled over the larger man's shoulders, again, but quickly got out of it.

Finally, Edward was able to get on the ropes and jumped on Emmett, who didn't expect it. After a half an hour of wrestling, Edward had Emmett in a headlock, after he'd tackled him to the ground, of course. Jasper counted to three before pulling Edward off of Emmett. "No fair!" Emmett yelled, kicking dirt.

"No do-overs." Jasper said, declaring Edward winner. "Edward wins, fair and square."

"Fine!" Emmett huffed. "I, as head of the house, for the moment, grant you, Edward Cullen, permission to date our sister, Bella Swan. You've passed all of our tests. Now, Bells, is dinner ready?" Emmett walked into the house and Bella hugged Edward.

"I knew you could do it. Congrats. Jesse didn't get as far as Josh's test before quiting." she said, kissing his cheek. She lead him inside and made tacos for the five boys.

After Edward had his fill of food, he said that he had to leave. Though it was only Monday, he couldn't wait til Saturday. He knew that they wouldn't be at school, so he had to settle for going to her house after school. He knew that he was going to face hell for not being home right after school.

And sure enough, when he got home, Carlisle was in a rage at his disobedience...

**A/N: Okay, this was ten typed pages long. Double what it would have been but I wanted to put in Edward's point of view. I think that the tests that the brothers gave him were funny. Please review and let me know what you think. If you have any suggestions for me, then please tell me. I don't know if I'm going to make Bella pregnant by Edward, probably not since there are so many stories like that already. No, I am not going to put in vampires because I want this to be an All Human story. I'm glad that you like it enough to keep reading. I want five reviews for this chapter before I think of starting it and ten if you want the chapter sooner than a week. This was beta-ed by Word Nazi. Thank you. You are an amazing beta. **

**--AMS  
**


	4. Chapter 4

****

Disclaimer: I'm not Stephenie Meyer

_After Edward had his fill of food, he said that he had to leave. Though it was only Monday, he couldn't wait til Saturday. He knew that they wouldn't be at school, so he had to settle for going to her house after school. He knew that he was going to face hell for not being home right after school._

_And sure enough, when he got home, Carlisle was in a rage at his disobedience..._

* * *

"Where were you?" Carlisle yelled, slamming Edward into the wall. Edward could tell that he was fully enraged so he elected to say nothing. He didn't want to get Bella in any trouble. "Where the fuck were you?" he yelled again, throwing Edward to the ground. Esme stood by the door, horror on her face. She knew not to get in the way. The only time that she had, had ended up with her in the hospital and Edward in the ICU.

"None of your business." Edward spat, pushing Carlisle away. Carlisle stumbled to the stair case, and fell on his butt. He turned to his mum, "Why won't you ever help me?" He asked, moving toward the door. "I'm your only kid and you let him do this to me." Edward shook his head and walked out the door. He jumped in his truck and sped off toward Bella's house.

* * *

A few minutes later, Edward was standing on the porch to Bella's house and ringing the doorbell. "Hey Edward." Bella said, opening the door. "What's up?" she asked, as she lead him to the living room, where her brothers were watching television.

"I, um, needed to get away from my...step dad." he replied, running his fingers through his hair.

"It's.. it's fine. Here, come in." Bella lead Edward through the hall to the game room, where her brothers were busy playing Guitar Hero. "Guys, Edward want's to chill. Make him feel welcome." she said, before she left for the kitchen. She was making dessert for her family.

"What's up Eddie?" Emmett asked, watching as Jake and Josh battled each other.

"Had to get away." Edward replied, sitting on the outer edge of the group.

"Whatever, man. Wanna play?" Emmett handed him a guitar and selected Through the Fire and Flames under the playlist. It started slow, then sped up. Fortunately, Edward played well enough so he didn't get booed off of the stage. "Good strumming." Emmett complimented as Bella brought in the chocolate chunk cookies. "Thanks sis. Love them."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." Bella smiled, dragging Edward out of the room. "Follow me." she whispered as her brothers consumed the cookies and concentraited on the game. She took him to her room and sat him on the bed. "Tell me what's wrong." she demanded, sitting beside him.

"Just... nothing. Okay? I'm fine, I just needed to get away. That's all." He didn't know why, but he didn't want anyone to know about the fucked up life that he had. He didn't want to ruin Bella's perfect bubble with his drama.

"You don't seem okay. If you want to talk, I do know how to listen." she replied, kissing him.

"It's fine. I can handle it." He said, pulling her on top of him. Just as he was about to kiss her, Emmett threw the door open.

"You. Out. Now." he growled to Edward. When he didn't make a move, Emmett picked Edward up by his collar and threw him into the hall. "Stay." he said to Bella before closing her door. He picked Edward up and took him to a room down the hall. Once inside he slammed the door shut. "What the fuck were you doing? Huh?" he yelled, causing Edward to cringe.

"None of your fucking business." Edward yelled back, trying to get to the door.

"I don't fucking think so. You need a fucking reality check." Emmett slammed Edward into a wall, intimidating him.

"Get off of me!" Edward yelled, pushing Emmett back. Emmett stumbled for a second before tripping over the glass coffee table and falling on his back-glass shattering.

"You...asshole." Emmett muttered, trying to get up. Edward ran to the door and called Bella in to help. The other boys, and Bella, ran into the room. Bella called 9-1-1 on her cell and tried to stop the bleeding.

"Just get out Edward. Before you get in trouble. I'll calm Em down." Bella said, pushin him toward the door.

Edward left and drove toward the outskirts of town.

**A/N: Okay, just to not get anyone confused, Jake is not Jacob Black. Just so you know. Anyway, sorry for the long wait. I'm hoping to update sooner from now on, since I have a bit more time.  
**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I'm not Stephenie Meyer**

Bella watched as Edward left her house. She didn't want him to go, but she also didn't want him to get into any trouble with Emmett. She'd finally gotten him to calm down enough to where he promised not to rat Edward out. She waited for the ambulance to pull up to the house, so they could get Emmett sewed up. As she was waiting she applied pressure to the sheet that she'd used to cover Emmett's wounds, so the bleeding would stop. "Bella, you _have _to tell them." Jasper said as he finished cleaning up the broken glass and blood.

"I can't. I know that Em's family, and totally unfair for nearly killing Edward, but Edward's dad is... well, you see... it's complicated Jazz. Edward's troubled and he needed someone to talk to, but Em doesn't understand that..." Bella started, trying to explain something that she didn't know anything about.

"So what. Bella, he's trouble in itself. I'm removing my vote to let him take you out on Saturday. And so have Jake and Josh. They agree with me and we think that it's what's safest for you.

"You can't be serious! This is... this is so unfair! I can't believe you guys." Bella ran from the room and to her car. She quickly started it and pulled out of the long driveway. She drove toward the only person that she really trusted-Jacob Black.

* * *

It took awhile for Bella to arrive at Jake's house, but she finally arrived. She knocked on the door and when Jake answered it she hugged him. He was the only person that had stayed as her true friend when he found out that her parents were famous. "What's wrong Bells?" he asked, hugging her back.

"My parents are getting divorced, my brothers are idiots, and the guy that I really like almost killed Emmett. On accident of course, but still. It's so confusing." Bella said as Jake lead her to the couch.

"It's 'kay Bells. I'm sure that they'll forget who this guy is once you explain everything to them... right?" Jake asked as he tried to cheer her up. She smiled after a few threats of tickling.

One thing that she hated about Jake was that he knew what her weaknesses were and used them to try to cheer her up.

She'd been at Jakes for a few hours when she heard someone knock on the door. She looked at it as if it would show the person, but watched as Jake opened the door. She heard someone ask for Billy, then saw Jake close the door and tell his dad what was going on. Billy's old wheelchair squeeked as Jake pushed him to the door. Billy opened it and revealed Edward.

* * *

Edward didn't know why he pushed Emmett into the table. He didn't know what he was doing. Edward thought about what would happen as he drove through town, and to the outskirts. Finally he ended up at the border of the La Push reservation. His dad had friends on the Rez from the "old days." Edward drove until he found Billy Black's house. He walked out of the truck and knocked on the door. After a moment, he heard shuffling inside and then the door opened-revealing a boy, around sixteen. "Can I help you?" he asked Edward.

"Is Billy Black home?" Edward asked, looking at his feet. He wasn't one for small conversations. He hated talking to new people, and wouldn't be standing on Billy Black's porch if he wasn't in a ton of trouble.

"Hang on." The boy turned and shut the door. Edward could hear him yell something, then the creaking of rusty metal. He waited for the door to open again, and when it did, an older man in a wheelchair was before him, the boy from before was behind the older man and Bella was on the couch.

"How can I help you?" the old man asked Edward, drawing Edward's attention away from Bella.

"Do you know an Edward Masen?" Edward asked, watching the old man's expression change from glum, to happy in the space of a second.

"He was one of my good friends, back when we were kids. Why?" Billy asked, leading Edward into the house.

"He's my dad. I'm in need of a place to stay for a day or two, and I was hoping that you could help me?" Edward replied, following the old man.

**A/N: This was beta-ed by lovelycullen24. Thank you so much!!!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I'm not Stephenie Meyer**

Before anyone noticed her, Bella slipped into Jake's room. She didn't know what to say to Edward, or Jake, becuase she didn't want to explain anything. She watched through a crack in the door as Billy lead Edward into the kitchen and sat him at the table. "So, what kind of trouble are you in?" she heard Billy ask Edward.

"None, sir. I just needed to get away from my step-dad for awhile." was Edward's reply. "I just don't understand why he hates me. And now I _was _dating this girl but he doesn't understand that I love her." she saw Edward look around, probably for something to take his mind off of everything.

"So if you love her, be with her." Billy said, handing Edward a plate of the dinner that Jake had cooked.

"It's complicated. I don't know where she is. The last that I knew, she was with her brothers." He said as he began eating the food. He chewed for a few minutes before saying, "I was going to ask her to marry me tonight, but things became complicated before I got the chance."

"Well, do you have her cell phone?" Jake asked, smirking. Bella swore to herself, knowing what her friend was planning.

"Yeah."

"Well, here's the phone. Call her. Tell her to meet you here." Jake smiled, handing the coordless to Edward. She heard the beeping of the keypad as Edward typed in her cell phone number.

As soon as the call reached her cell, it began ringing. She, of course, didn't have it on vibrate.

_I've found a reason for me  
To change who I used to be  
A reason to start over new  
and the reason is you_

"What the-" Edward began, but stopped as Bella walked out of Jake's room, blushing.

"Hey Edward." she mumbled, shutting her phone. "What's up?"

"Why are you here? I thought-"

"Well, Jake's my friend and I needed to get away from everything for awhile. Emmett's fine, just so you know. Nothing's wrong with him. And he apologizes for being an ass to you." she said, quickly. "I know why you're here. I kinda heard from Jake's room."

"How much did you hear?"

"Everything... and I would love to marry you Edward. But I can't. Not right now. You see... my parents are going to get divorced and I can't get married when theirs is failing."

"But-"

"If you'll wait for me, Edward, I will marry you."

"Bella, I-"

"Edward, do you understand?"

"Yeah, Bella, I do. But seriously? Your parents' marriage is failing?"

"Mhm. And my mom gets half of everything. She's even going to try and take me away."

"She can't do that!"

"Actually, I can." Renee said, standing at the door. She walked in and pulled Bella away from the small group. "Say good-bye, Bella."

"Bye." Bella whispered, allowing herself to be pulled away by her mother.

* * *

Edward watched as his girlfriend was pulled away from him, by her mother. Billy lead him to an extra room, where he just layed down. He noticed a CD player and a Hoobastank CD on the nightstand. He put it in and it turned to the song, The Reason.

_I'm not a perfect person  
There's many things I wish I didn't do  
But I continue learning  
I never meant to do those things to you  
And so I have to say before I go  
That I just want you to know_

_I've found a reason for me  
To change who I used to be  
A reason to start over new  
and the reason is you_

_I'm sorry that I hurt you  
It's something I must live with everyday  
And all the pain I put you through  
I wish that I could take it all away  
And be the one who catches all your tears  
Thats why I need you to hear_

_I've found a reason for me  
To change who I used to be  
A reason to start over new  
and the reason is You  
and the reason is You  
and the reason is You  
and the reason is You_

_Im not a perfect person  
I never meant to do those things to you  
And so I have to say before I go  
That I just want you to know_

_I've found a reason for me  
To change who I used to be  
A reason to start over new  
and the reason is you_

_I've found a reason to show  
A side of me you didn't know  
A reason for all that I do  
And the reason is you_

By the end of the song, Edward was crying for Bella, hitting the wall, and trying to stay sane...

**A/N: This was beta-ed by lovelycullen24. Thank you so much!!! Well, this is the end of the story, but be informed. There will be a sequal. I promise.**


	7. Chapter 7: A Chapter After the Ending

**Disclaimer: I'm not Stephenie Meyer**

**A/N: Okay, so I'm sure that you, the readers of this fic, thought that the previous chapter was the very last chapter. It wasn't. This chapter is. I thought that I would surprise you guys with a chapter, since it is the winter holiday season.**

It had been six months, two days, twelve hours, and seven minutes since Renee had taken Bella away from Forks. Since Renee had separated her only daughter from her brothers and father. Bella wasn't happy, and she didn't adjust well to the new school, but she made at least one friend. She became a popular at school just because of who her parents were. But none of that mattered. She didn't want to be popular without her beloved. Without Edward, life seemed pointless. Without Edward she had no reason to live, nothing to look forward to, no reason to breathe.. She wanted everything to end or Edward to come rescue her from the pointless life that she was living.

Her days consisted of going to school, going home, doing homework, and sleeping. She barely ever ate since she never had an appetite. And it seemed, to her, that no ordinary food would fulfill her hunger. Only Edward could or would make it disappear.

Around the end of the school year she graduated with the seniors, even though she was a junior (she had taken advanced classes which made her an advanced student and able to graduate early), but felt that something was missing. Renee hadn't allowed Charlie, Jasper, Emmett, or the twins to come to the ceremony, but they had sent their gifts in advance. Bella had called them, from the privacy of her room, and nearly bawled when they asked her how she was doing. Unfortunately, Charlie couldn't do anything since the judge had ruled that Renee was the sole guardian of Bella. And Bella couldn't leave the state since she wasn't 18 until that September.

She looked at her reflection in the bathroom mirror when she got home and didn't like what she saw. She glared at the tanned reflection, wanting to smash it to pieces. Instead she walked to her room and sat in the darkness-even though it was still daylight-and let the depression that was ebbing on the edge of her psyche consume her.

The next thing that she knew, her head was hitting her pillow and the vision of her beloved was the image on the inside of her eyelids, though she could have believed that it was the real thing.

* * *

Edward watched the clock changing, not paying attention to what his Physics teacher was saying. His thoughts consisted of Bella and revenge. He wanted revenge on Bella's mother for taking Bella away from him before he could say anything. Nothing hurt him more than seeing the woman that he loved being dragged away from him. He could have killed Renee for what she did. Instead, he let the anger grow inside him as he stayed silent, fighting himself inside.

He hated that his step dad made him go to school-even though it was pointless. He thought that Carlisle was an inbred pig that imagined he was ruler of everyone. Even though his mother was in love with the man, Edward wanted him to leave. He felt the blame was to be put on someone he could actually yell at, not someone that was hundreds of miles away.

He knew that once he got home, the yelling would continue, and Carlisle wouldn't give up on torturing him with the endless babble about the Clergymen and how they were the "right" people and everyone else was wrong. He knew that he would be chastised until someone cracked. It seemed that he did everything wrong in the house, and Carlisle made it his mission to catch him at everything.

Finally, Edward snapped. He packed a bag and booked a plane ticket to Arizona and left during the middle of one of Carlisle's speeches. Needless to say it left the man speechless after he finished his sentence.

Edward boardedthe plane and was glad to be rid of the pig. He waited, impatiently, as the plane flew toward his love's house. He fell asleep on the plane and one of the stewardesses had to wake him. When he was oriented, he left the plane, grabbed the paper that Bella's address was scrawled on, and hailed a taxi. He told the driver the address, then paid the man in advance.

When the car stopped, Edward saw that the door was open. He walked in and looked around, finding nothing. Finally, when he came to a door at the end of the hall on the second floor, he saw Bella passing out. He knew that she saw him because he saw a smile fall on her lips as her eyes closed. He lifted her up, making her wake, and said, "I'm here love."

**A/N: This was beta-ed by lovelycullen24. Thank you so much!!! Well, this is the end of the story, but be informed. There will be a sequal. I promise**


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